Coronavirus: Conducting mass tests not feasible due to population - FG
- FG says it can't afford to conduct mass Covid-19 tests for Nigerians due to the population of the country
- Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, said coronavirus can only be conducted on people with travel histories and established contact with positive cases
- The minister also said the federal government will only rely on the advice of medical experts and WHO to battle the coronavirus
The federal government has ruled out conducting mass coronavirus (Covid-19) tests for Nigeria due to the population of the country.
Speaking after at the reception organised for a 15-man Chinese medical team who are in Nigeria to help tackle coronavirus, minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, said the government can only afford to test people with a travel history and contact with index cases, NAN reports.
“We have 200 million citizens and mass testing is not something that I think is very feasible now, we are doing targeted testing," the minister said.
“We are targeting those who are likely to have been affected, so we are looking at areas and persons who meet certain criteria that we set.
Source: Twitter
“Criteria of having been abroad, having been in contact with persons who have been abroad or having been in a cluster of places where we have a lot of positives."
Ehanire also said the federal government will only rely on the advice of medical experts and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
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Earlier, it was reported that Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of state for health, said he has not received a briefing on how Governor Makinde was cured of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Speaking at the presidential task force briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, April 8, the minister said Governor Makinde's claim that he was cured of coronavirus through the local herbal alternative was not brought to his knowledge.
Mamora said he will make a "categorical statement" when he gets full information on how the governor was treated.
It would be recalled that Governor Makinde said he has recovered from the coronavirus after testing negative for the disease twice.
Makinde broke the news in a tweet late on Sunday, April 5, and thanked the people of the state for their prayers. The governor later revealed how he fought coronavirus while in isolation after recovering from COVID-19.
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